Writing Accountability

What is it that holds you accountable to get your writing done every day? If the answer is "nothing," it might be difficult to hold onto your writing habit if you get tripped up somewhere down the line. Creating some writing accountability is extremely important to ensure you keep up with your writing projects.

Back in the day, when most writers were commissioned to write by the way of a publishing company, it was easy to find the motivation in continuing to write. If you stopped writing, you lost your job. It was that simple. Nowadays there are bloggers and self-publishers that require constant motivation to keep themselves going day in and day out.

One trick is to get yourself a writing partner or a writing group. Try to meet with these fellow writers once a week in person or over the phone. Give each other goals to achieve, such as a certain amount of words or chapters. This can make it so that even on a day when you don't feel like writing, you are essentially guilted into putting pen to paper. You and your partner or group hold each other accountable and as a result you accomplish more together.

Another idea is to tell other people about a writing goal in mind. For instance, say you want to write a book about fishing lures by the end of the year. Tell your friends and family about this fishy book and how you can't wait to show it to them when it's done. This will allow your loved ones to act as constant reminders when they ask you about the book between now and your deadline. I suggest sharing your goal with your most positive and encouraging associates, so that they can keep you going without any negativity slowing you down.

Last but not least, you can do what I have just done. This week, I began an initiative to write 2,500 words for 365 consecutive days. The daily plan is to write 2,000 words toward my books that I plan to self-publish, 400 words for blog posts here at Build Creative Writing Ideas and 100 words toward my new blog Writing for 365 Days to update readers on my progress. This will allow for readers of the blog and my Facebook and Twitter friends to increase my writing accountability during the project. If all goes to plan, I will have written over 10 books and over 700 blog posts between the two blogs over the next year. Feel free to comment here or on my other blog to keep me motivated in my quest!

Bryan Cohen is the author of more than 30 books, many of which focus on creative writing and blasting through that pesky writer's block. His books have sold more than 20,000 copies. You can find him on Google+ and Facebook.

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